The architect of President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies has been called out by his own cousin for seeking to “take away” the opportunities that once allowed their own Jewish immigrant family to thrive.
White House aide Stephen Miller, 40, has built his second-Trump-term clout around ever-harsher enforcement and a drive to choke off legal pathways for immigrants—while, as reported by The New Republic, his own family history is rooted in people fleeing persecution and rebuilding in the United States.
The apparent disconnect between his own family history and the strict immigration crackdown he’s spearheading rankled Alisa Kasmer, a cousin on his father’s side.
In a rare interview, Kasmer told The New Republic’s Greg Sargent, “We’re Jewish—we grew up knowing how hated we were just for existing. Now he’s trying to take away the exact thing that his own family benefited from: that ability to create a life for themselves, to prosper, to build community, to have successful businesses—to live a rewarding life.”
Kasmer’s comments follow a July Facebook post in which she disowned Miller and wrote: “I am living with the deep pain of watching someone I once loved become the face of evil.” She also recalled babysitting her cousin as a kid, and said their shared upbringing emphasized the lessons of Jewish persecution and the moral force of “never again.”
Her criticism is part of a wider case made by the New Republic that Miller’s ideology echoes earlier nativist rhetoric—and that he has celebrated some of the restrictionist history that once targeted immigrants like his forebears.
The outlet points to Miller praising the Immigration Act of 1924, including an August post claiming the U.S. was strongest during a period when “immigration was net negative,” and notes reporting on 2015 emails in which he lauded President Calvin Coolidge’s role in signing the law.
The article also lays out the numbers behind Miller’s current push. He has demanded 3,000 immigration arrests per day—roughly 1 million a year. So far, arrests have lingered at around 1,000 a day.
Under Miller, the Trump administration has also sent a clear signal on refugees, drastically slashing the number of those it would accept. A plan unveiled in October said only 7,500 refugees will be accepted this fiscal year—with a majority of slots reserved for white Afrikaners—down from 125,000 under Joe Biden. The administration has also moved to end Temporary Protected Status for people from at least eight countries, totaling more than 1 million people.
Denials have also reportedly gone up for all kinds of immigration applications, from green card applications to applications for temporary visas. They rose by about 50,000 in a three-month period this year, from April to June 2025.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
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